Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13
Every day that we wake up as free individuals is because a Veteran/Service Member sacrificed for that freedom. Some make the ultimate sacrifice. Please pray for and reflect on them during Memorial Day, and every day.
(Thank me later for getting that LMFAO classic stuck in your head.)
May 6 will mark six months since my return to multiple daily injections (MDI), or, as I like to say, “shots.” Let’s call it like it is, people. It’s sticking a needle in your arm, butt, back, stomach, leg many times per day to deliver life-sustaining medication. It is not a cure, but it gives us life each day.
At a recent doctor’s appointment I proclaimed, “This rollercoaster isn’t working. I need to return to the pump!”
To which my doctor countered, “And you told me the same thing about the pump before you went back on shots, Ally!”
I responded with a stunned face that only a googley-eyed emoticon can convey. My doctor was right. Diabetes is not as simple as insulin pump versus shots versus Afrezza versus whatever floats your boat.
If I have learned anything in the past six months, it is just how different everyone’s diabetes is and just how different our treatment methods may be- whether out of personal choice or simply out of necessity. I’ll give another plug for Spare a Rose here: Most of us in the #doc are blessed to have any access to insulin, never mind the added bonus of having some flexibility in treatment options.
With that said, I know I seem like a broken record about the insulin pump. I want to set things straight here once and for all, while providing an update about my shots journey for those who may be interested.
Insulin pumps, when functioning optimally, are amazing devices. Going on the pump in high school opened up a whole new world to me. My parents breathed a sigh of relief that I could enjoy being a dorky kid with a bit more freedom back then. There are things that I miss immensely about insulin pumping: fine-tuning insulin doses, temporary basals, basal adjustments in one minute flat, carb-count/correction factor/insulin on board “wizards,” stability in blood sugar values on the good days.
If the pump works for you without many issues, all the more power to you. I want you to use whatever makes you feel healthy and happy- the same goals that I want for myself. In my rare case, going on shots had to serve that immediate interest in order to save my health. Do what works for you.
You can achieve a healthy lifestyle on shots, but it is more of a clunky, awkward sort of dance. Once that Lantus is injected, it’s there for the day. On Friday, my pancreas decided to rev up a notch (sarcasm), and for some odd reason I could not get my blood sugar to rise all day despite having taken the same dose of Lantus that I take every single day and hardly bolusing Humalog. I force-fed myself almost all of the leftover Easter candy to no avail. Good Lord did I miss the temp basal feature of the pump then! I longed for the personalized touches of modern technology that brick and mortar insulin injections simply do not afford.
I would ultimately like to ease into an “untethered” regimen of background Lantus in case of pump failures coupled with insulin pump usage again. However, this is quite complex, and we are not quite there with the shots yet. More details need to be worked out in terms of my basal and bolus plans. We are not settled into our comfort zone at this time, but we will get there. For now, we are enjoying the fact that insulin is getting into my body without technological glitches causing ketones each day, a freedom that I will never take for granted again.
Many topnotch brainiac doctors have looked into my pump issues. We know that the product did not work for me personally. But we also know that a pump-centric solution has not yet been provided. Right now, we do not need to add another factor to the equation. We’ll give shots a shot (see what I did there?) for another few months, at least.
I find myself daydreaming about a cure so often now: the party on the tropical island with the entire #doc; the sugary drinks consumed without having to stop and bolus- whether that be via insulin pump or shots; the happy kind of tears.
As a child when that elusive diabetes cure was “ten years away” (cue inside diabetic joke laughter), my father used to tell us about the enormous cure party we would have. There would be a table in the middle of the front yard with a sledgehammer on it. We would smash my blood glucose meter, syringes, and other diabetes supplies into tiny pieces to signify victory over a vindictive disease.
The sentiment was well-intentioned, although today I must admit that I laugh a bit at that particular daydream. If I were cured tomorrow, all of those diabetes supplies would immediately be donated to people who needed them in the interim. The supplies have nobler uses than being crushed by a sledgehammer.
We should be thankful for the supplies that we have keeping us alive right now. If an insulin pump does its job for you, perfect. If Afrezza is your drug of choice, inhale away. If shots suit you better, go for it. However you choose to do so, just fight the good fight until there is a cure.
Please keep those cure daydreams alive by continuing to advocate so well. #weneedacure
Try.
Dictionary.com says
“to attempt to do or accomplish”
“to put to a severe test”
“subject to strain, as of endurance, patience, affliction”
“to attempt to open (a door, window, etc.) in order to find out whether it is locked: Try all the doors before leaving.”
Fear.
Dictionary.com says
“the feeling or condition of being afraid.”
I fear spiders.
I fear insulin- too much and too little and not finding that happy medium dose.
I fear carbohydrates- too many or too few.
My biggest fear, though, is misconception.
If something “bad” ever happens diabetes-wise, others might think that I didn’t try.
This is why,
despite the fears,
brush the spider off the car windshield.
Say a prayer and take the insulin.
Eat the carbohydrates.
Treat the lows and the highs.
Until there’s a cure, we must
“Try all the doors before leaving.”
Try.
If you have wanted to get more involved with the diabetic online community (#doc) but are not quite sure how to do so, today is a good day to dive right in. We don’t bite!
Use the hash tag #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes (brought to us by Kelly @diabetesalish) to document what you want others to understand about diabetes. Advocacy starts with the first tweet, Facebook post, blog writing session, and so forth. And advocacy can happen anytime, not just today. We’d love to have you onboard!
I’m doing some research for one of my grad classes with a focus on how the Affordable Care Act impacts quality of care. While there are objective measures of quality such as hospital reimbursement rates, I believe the patient perspective is invaluable as well. Quality, then, must be addressed and defined from the various view points of those in the health care system.
I would like to gather some patient responses prior to my presentation. Personally identifiable information will not be included, rather, the aggregate of the information provided to me will be summarized for my class.
So, if you have an opinion on how quality affects your health care, please comment here or feel free to contact me over the next few weeks.
What would you like to see change in terms of quality of care?
Do you think that the way your health care providers measure quality is an adequate representation of the type of care you receive?
Have you noticed changes- good or bad- in your quality of care since the passage of the Affordable Care Act?
Is your health care delivery environment upfront about how they plan to improve the quality of your care?
These are just starting points, but any and all information provided will be useful and is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your help!
Very Light, No Sugar 